Suffering

Although it is sometimes equated with pain, suffering is better understood as a highly unpleasant emotional state associated with significant pain or distress. Just how much a sentient creature suffers may vary depending on the meaning attached, by the creature, to the relevant pain or distress, or expectations about the future. Suffering provokes moral concern, especially when it is caused needlessly. It raises questions about the nature and extent of our duties to human and non-human creatures that are suffering (based on The Routledge Encyclopaedia of Philosophy ) .